Washington has added Fresno State to its 2017 college football schedule, filling a vacancy on Sept 16. The Huskies open at Rutgers on Sept. 1 and host Montana Sept. 9. The Huskies and Bulldogs have meet three times, all at Husky Stadium.

The Mariners Sunday announced 10 roster moves, including the demotion of LHP Roenis Elias, a rotation candidate at the start of spring training, to AAA Tacoma. The move means that Taijuan Walker will begin the 2015 season as the No. 5 starter. The Mariners now have 28 players (27 roster, one non-roster invitee) on a roster that must be trimmed to 25 by Saturday in advance of Opening Day (April 6).

Mariners prospect Victor Sanchez died Saturday due to complications from injuries he suffered in a boating accident last month in Carupano, Venezuela. A 20-year-old native of Rio Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, Sanchez played three seasons in the Seattle organization with the A Everett AquaSox, A Clinton LumberKings and AA Jackson Generals. Rafa Nieves, Sanchez's agent, confirmed his client's death to MLB.com.

Although they played with a man advantage for nearly 75 minutes, the Sounders (1-1-1, four points) couldn't break through against FC Dallas and managed a 0-0 draw with the Texans FC Saturday night at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. Shackled without Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins (both injured) and missing Marco Pappa (international duty), the Sounders snapped FC Dallas' MLS-best winning streak at three matches.

Catcher Mike Zunino cracked a pair of home runs, but the Mariners allowed five runs in the ninth Saturday and lost to the San Francisco Giants 9-8 in Peoria, AZ. The Mariners have dropped four games in a row and are 10-14-2 in Cactus League play.

David Rollins, a strong candidate for a bullpen job with the Mariners, has instead been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball for violating the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Rollins was a Rule V pick from the Houston Astros the past winter and had been getting a long look as the second lefty out of Seattle's bullpen.

It seems that the most uneventful play in football (college or pro) is about to get a makeover, perhaps a radical one if Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has his way. According to NFL Competition Committee co-chair Rich McKay, there is a "clear sentiment" to change the extra point in time for the start of the 2015 season.

The Seahawks Wednesday filled vacancies on the coaching staff by naming Dwaine Board assistant defensive line coach, Chris Cash assistant secondary/cornerbacks coach and Andre Curtis assistant secondary/safeties coach. Board begins his second stint with the Seahawks, while Cash played under head coach Pete Carroll at the University of Southern California.

Lamar Neagle (11th minute) and Andy Rose (56th) tallied goals as the short-handed Sounders rallied for a 2-2 draw with Club Tijuana of Liga MX in an international friendly Tuesday night in front of 39,115 at CenturyLink Field. Second-year Homegrown Player Aaron Kovar, who served up numerous well-placed crosses, assisted on both goals.

The NFL awarded the Seahawks four supplemental choices in the 2015 draft as a result of sustaining losses in free agency last year. Seattle will get additional picks in the fourth round (134th overall), fifth round (170th) and two in the sixth (209th, 214th). The Seahawks have 11 picks in the April 30-May 2 draft, held in Chicago.

Athletes rarely engage in the prediction business, leaving that to oddsmakers, sports writers and broadcasters, and anyone else who cares to opine. But Felix Hernandez this week joined an expanding chorus of professional pundits who believe that the Mariners are the chic pick to win a wide-open American League.

Forward Clint Dempsey and midfielder Marco Pappa were summoned Sunday to national team duty for a pair of international friendlies. Dempsey is headed to Europe with the U.S. Men's National Team for matches against Denmark and Switzerland, while Pappa will remain in the U.S. with Guatemala to take on Canada and El Salvador.

No one has questioned Mike Zunino's skill behind the plate or his propensity for delivering an intermittent moon shot. Zunino hit 22 home runs last season, including a 431-foot bomb April 14 at Texas, a 430-foot blast June 20 at Kansas City, and seven other wallops that, according to ESPN's Home Run Tracker, exceeded 400 feet.

After missing the playoffs for 13 consecutive years, including the last six under general manager Jack Zduriencik, the Mariners enter the 2015 season in less than three weeks (April 6, Safeco Field) with five -- Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, Fernando Rodney -- 2014 American League All-Stars on their roster and enough supplemental talent to win the AL West, maybe even the World Series.

Seahawks long snapper Clint Gresham Friday agreed to a three-year contract extension. The 28-year-old Texas Christian alum, who has been with the franchise for the past five seasons, made the announcement on his Instagram account. The Seahawks claimed Gresham off waivers from New Orleans Aug. 1, 2010.

Despite statistical evidence to the contrary, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon doesn't buy into the idea that Safeco Field is a poor park for hitters.

"It's false," McClendon told reporters Thursday. "I mean that. Go to Comerica (Detroit) if you want to see a big ballpark. It's 430 (feet to) straightway center and 415 in right-center. Safeco (deepest point of the park is 405 feet) is not a big place."

Virtually inactive in the NFL bazaar since trading for New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham 10 days ago, the Seahawks Thursday moved to bolster their defensive line by signing free agent defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin and bringing back DT D'Anthony Smith. With Graham aboard, the Seahawks predictably lost TE Tony Moeaki.

Now that Brad Miller has "won" the shortstop job for the Mariners, due to Chris Taylor's broken wrist bone, the remaining issue in spring training is the No. 5 starter, a choice between Erasmo Ramirez vs. Taijuan Walker. Ramirez added to his case Wednesday night against Oakland with four scoreless innings, while Walker faces the Cleveland Indians Thursday night.

Quarterback Chris Chandler and center James Edwards, both of whom starred at the University of Washington and then combined to play 36 professional seasons in the NFL and NBA respectively, are among six individuals voted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

The Sounders Tuesday signed two of their 2015 MLS SuperDraft selections, defender Oniel Fisher (second round, 40th overall) and goalkeeper Charlie Lyon (fourth round, 75th overall). The club added both to the first-team roster, which now includes 28 players.

Thank you! Art Thiel and Steve Rudman

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